Campus Alert Archive
Smith

Two Weeks Inside College Hall: Smith Students Occupy 1875 Administration Building for Gaza Divestment

MAcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence

On March 27, 2024, roughly 300 Smith College students walked out of class and occupied College Hall, the institution's main administrative building, after the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility rejected a divestment proposal earlier that day. The sit-in lasted nearly two weeks and ended voluntarily on April 9 when organizers relocated to Seelye Lawn. President Sarah Willie-LeBreton sent campus-wide updates throughout the occupation rather than calling police.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Smith College
Private Liberal Arts · MA
~2,500 studentsSmith College Notify
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction469 chars
Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty: A group of students has entered College Hall and indicated that they intend to remain in the building until certain demands are met. Out of care for our community, College Hall will remain open and accessible while we work toward a peaceful resolution. We ask that all members of the community respect one another's safety and refrain from any actions that disrupt the work of our staff. Updates will follow as the situation develops.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; Smith has not posted the verbatim email to a public alert archive, but multiple outlets summarized its contents
Smith deliberately framed the initial notification as an 'advisory' rather than an emergency-notification, declining to lock down or evacuate the building
This non-confrontational approach is notable contrast to Columbia/Pomona responses to similar sit-ins
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction546 chars
Smith Community: Earlier today I met with students currently occupying College Hall to listen to their concerns about the war in Gaza. While we did not reach a resolution, three members of the Board of Trustees have offered to meet virtually with three student protesters on Tuesday, provided the students agree to end the occupation and resume normal academic activities. The college's investment policies are governed by our Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, which considered and declined the divestment proposal earlier this week.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Gazette coverage of the Sunday-night message; Smith's College Hall Update page archived a public-facing summary but not the email text
Notable that the message offers conditional negotiation rather than ultimatums
Smith's Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility had rejected the divestment proposal hours before the sit-in began on March 27
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction343 chars
Smith Community: The students who have been occupying College Hall have voluntarily concluded their sit-in this afternoon and relocated their demonstration to Seelye Lawn. College Hall will resume normal operations. I am grateful to our staff, students, and faculty for the patience and care you have shown one another over the past two weeks.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Gazette and New Hampshire Public Radio reporting on April 9, 2024
Smith's resolution without arrests is one of the rare 2024 spring-term outcomes that did not involve law enforcement clearance
The students announced they intended to 'expand their protest movement' from the outdoor Seelye Lawn location
Context

Background

On March 27, 2024, Smith College's Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility rejected a proposal to divest the college's endowment from weapons manufacturers supplying Israel, citing that the holdings were 'negligible and indirect.' Within hours, an estimated 300 students walked out of classes and entered College Hall, the 1875 administrative building that houses the president's office. The sit-in lasted nearly two weeks, making it one of the longest spring-2024 Gaza-related campus occupations to end without arrests. President Sarah Willie-LeBreton kept the building open, met with protesters on March 30, and sent campus-wide email updates rather than issuing emergency-notification alerts. On April 9, organizers from Students for Justice in Palestine voluntarily relocated their demonstration outdoors to Seelye Lawn. The episode is notable in the campus-alert context for what Smith chose not to do: no Notify text alert, no lockdown, no police request, no arrests — a deliberate communications posture grounded in Smith's small-college, women's-college tradition of community deliberation.
Analysis

Key Findings

Smith's response sat at the opposite end of the Spring 2024 spectrum from Columbia and Pomona — emails to the community rather than emergency-notification text alerts, and no police deployment
Despite the duration of nearly two weeks, no formal emergency-notification or timely-warning alert was issued under Clery; the college handled the occupation as an 'advisory' communication
The voluntary end on April 9 means the case demonstrates that prolonged building occupations can resolve without arrests when administrations decline to escalate
Outcome
The sit-in ended voluntarily after 13 days without arrests or police involvement. Smith trustees offered to meet virtually with three student protesters on conditions the students declined. Students relocated to an outdoor demonstration on Seelye Lawn and pledged to continue their divestment campaign.
Provenance

Sources

  1. national media
    Smith College students protest for divestment, occupy hall (Inside Higher Ed)
    insidehighered.com
  2. News
    Smith students occupy administration building (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
    gazettenet.com
  3. News
    Little progress after Smith College president meets with student occupiers (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
    gazettenet.com
  4. News
    Smith College students end sit-in over divestment (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
    gazettenet.com
  5. official statement
    College Hall Update (Smith College President's Office)
    smith.edu
  6. regional media
    Smith College students move sit-in outdoors (NHPR)
    nhpr.org
Tags
civil-disturbancegaza-protestdivestmentsit-inwomens-collegeprivate-liberal-artsmassachusettsno-arrestsadvisory-communication
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion